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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. current — electric
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. fine — all right
  5. field — for sport
  6. court — of law
  7. net — for catching
  8. current — happening now
  9. field — farmland
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. toast — bread
  12. net — after costs
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. field — a subject
  17. fine — high quality
  18. current — of water
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rule — a law
  22. net — in sport
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of a king

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com